Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Independent - York Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on trends in the number of (a) hate crimes and (b) instances of racism in communities that have not (i) taken flags down and (ii) removed graffiti.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes official statistics on hate crime offences recorded by the police in England and Wales. The latest release, including information on trends, can be found here: Hate crime, England and Wales, year ending March 2024 - GOV.UK
The Home Office does not hold information on whether flags or graffiti were present or removed from the communities the offences took place in.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Independent - York Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had recent discussions with the Foreign Secretary on taking steps to help support Palestinians to access locations to verify their biometric data for UK visa applications.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
There are currently two UK Visa Application Centres operating in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, in Ramallah and Jerusalem. The centres in Ramallah and Jerusalem are open twice per week and once every two weeks respectively for biometrics enrolment. The UK Visa Application Centre in Gaza has been closed since 7 October 2023 due to the conflict in the region and to ensure the safety of staff and customers. UKVI will continue to monitor the situation and work closely with the supplier, VFS, to re-open this centre when it becomes safe to do so. There are also Visa Application Centres in neighbouring countries, such as Egypt and Jordan, which are open daily if customers are able to travel to these locations.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Independent - York Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department is taking to steps to help support children in Gaza with family members in the UK to come to the UK.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is keeping all existing visa pathways under review in response to events in Gaza. Palestinians who wish to settle in the UK can do so via the existing routes available. Further information can be found on the GOV.UK website: Visas and immigration - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)(opens in a new tab).
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Independent - York Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help reunite people in Gaza with members of their families in the UK.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is keeping all existing visa pathways under review in response to events in Gaza. Palestinians who wish to settle in the UK can do so via the existing routes available. Further information can be found on the GOV.UK website: Visas and immigration - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)(opens in a new tab).
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Independent - York Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether groomed children have been placed on the sex offenders register.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Baroness Casey's Audit signalled concerns that victims of child sexual exploitation have been unjustly criminalised and treated as perpetrators for actions taken whilst under the coercion of groomers. As an immediate first step, we will legislate in the Crime and Policing Bill to introduce a disregard scheme for individuals who as children were convicted or cautioned for the offence of loitering or soliciting for the purposes of prostitution. We will work with relevant bodies across the criminal justice system to ensure any such cases are identified, reviewed and that victims are properly supported.
The notification requirements for sex offenders (often referred to as "the sex offenders' register") are an automatic consequence of a conviction or caution for an offence in Schedule 3 to the Sexual Offences Act 2003. Offenders subject to the notification requirements must notify their personal details (e.g., their name(s), address(es) and national insurance number) to the police annually or whenever their details change. The notification requirements apply to adult and juvenile offenders, although their duration is halved for juveniles.
The offence of loitering or soliciting for the purposes of prostitution has never been in Schedule 3 to the 2003 Act, so convictions or cautions for that offence have not triggered the notification requirements for sex offenders.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Independent - York Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Government's response to Recommendation 3 of the report entitled National Audit on Group-based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, published on 16 June 2025, what her planned timetable is for introducing a disregard for convictions of people who were (a) groomed and (b) convicted of prostitution as children.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government has announced its intention to implement a disregard scheme for convictions and cautions issued to under 18s for the offence of persistently loitering or soliciting in a street or public place for the purpose of prostitution (Section 1 of Street Offences Act, 1959).
Any individual who has received convictions or cautions while under 18 for this offence will be able to apply to the scheme, regardless of whether they have been a victim of ‘grooming’ or ‘group-based child sexual exploitation’.
This reflects the Government’s belief that any procurement of sex from an individual aged under 18 is sexual exploitation of children.
The Government is collaborating now with relevant authorities to determine the implementation timeframe for this scheme and will announce this in due course.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Independent - York Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she plans to take to help ensure that children who experience child sexual abuse feel more confident (a) to report that abuse and (b) that all reports will be listened to and taken seriously.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Through the Crime and Policing Bill, the Government is legislating to introduce a mandatory duty to report child sexual abuse for those undertaking regulated activity with children in England.
It will ensure that the words of children who are seeking help are heard, and it will provide much-needed clarity for those working with young people on how to respond appropriately when faced with these concerns. It will also apply the strongest possible measures to anyone who seeks to cover up abuse of this kind.
The introduction of this measure will be an important moment for young people who do not speak out because of fears they would not be listened to – a mandatory duty to report means they can speak to trusted adults with confidence on the next steps that will be taken.
Since 2016, the Home Office has also funded the independent Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse (‘CSA Centre’) to improve understanding of the scale and nature of child sexual abuse, and strengthen the ability of professionals to identify and respond effectively to it through the provision of evidence-based training and practice resources. The CSA Centre supports professionals across policing, justice, children’s services, education, health and the third-sector.
Its resources include a ‘Signs and Indicators’ template, which supports professionals in recording and communicating their concerns about possible child sexual abuse and a ‘Communicating with Children’ guide, which provides guidance on how to talk to children about child sexual abuse, and what professionals can do to help children communicate what is happening.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Independent - York Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) firearm and (a) shotgun certificates have been issued to people who had previously faced allegations of domestic abuse.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Firearms Act 1968 gives responsibility for the issuing of firearms certificates to Chief Officers of Police.
The Statutory Guidance to Chief Officers of Police on firearms licensing, issued by the Secretary of State, makes it clear that any allegations of domestic abuse concerning a firearms certificate applicant must be taken extremely seriously. Any evidence of domestic abuse will mean that the application is usually refused, or the existing certificate revoked.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Independent - York Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) firearms and (b) shotgun certificate (i) applications and (ii) renewals were completed in (A) York and (B) North Yorkshire in the latest 12 month period for which data is available.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Home Office collects and publishes information annually on the number of firearms and shotgun certificates that have been granted, refused or revoked by police forces in the Statistics on firearm and shotgun certificates publication. The latest available data is for the year ending 31 March 2024 and can be accessed at the following link:
Statistics on firearm and shotgun certificates: April 2023 to March 2024 - GOV. UK (www.gov.uk).
The number of firearms and shotgun certificate applications and renewal applications that were completed (either granted or refused), and the number of firearm and shotgun certificates that were revoked in the Yorkshire and the Humber region in the 12 months to March 2024 can be found in data tables 2 and 4.
Within the Yorkshire and Humber region, data are available for Humberside, North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire.
Data for the year ending 31 March 2025 will be released between June and July 2025: Statistics on firearm and shotgun certificates, England and Wales: April 2024 to March 2025 - Accredited official statistics announcement - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Independent - York Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) firearms and (b) shotgun certificate certificates were revoked in (i) York and (ii) North Yorkshire in the latest 12 month period for which data is available.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Home Office collects and publishes information annually on the number of firearms and shotgun certificates that have been granted, refused or revoked by police forces in the Statistics on firearm and shotgun certificates publication. The latest available data is for the year ending 31 March 2024 and can be accessed at the following link:
Statistics on firearm and shotgun certificates: April 2023 to March 2024 - GOV. UK (www.gov.uk).
The number of firearms and shotgun certificate applications and renewal applications that were completed (either granted or refused), and the number of firearm and shotgun certificates that were revoked in the Yorkshire and the Humber region in the 12 months to March 2024 can be found in data tables 2 and 4.
Within the Yorkshire and Humber region, data are available for Humberside, North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire.
Data for the year ending 31 March 2025 will be released between June and July 2025: Statistics on firearm and shotgun certificates, England and Wales: April 2024 to March 2025 - Accredited official statistics announcement - GOV.UK.